Living in Consciousness ~ Indi(r)a’s Food and Garden Weblog

Brussels Sprouts, Potatoes & Garbanzo Curry

Brussels Sprout

If cabbage has a mini me, it would definitely look like a brussels sprout, I think. To compensate what they lack in size, they got lot of that cabbage sp(t)unk. Somehow this tiny, tightly wounded veggie brings out the bad in people here. Blah, eew, yuk, is what you hear often with the mention of brussels sprouts. Blanching them whole and buttering them up, I would say yuk too. My way of preparing brussels sprouts is different and cooking curried way makes this winter season vegetable pleasantly pleasing.

For our lunch today, I saut?ed the brussels sprouts with potatoes and fresh green chana (garbanzo/chickpeas). Little bit of chillie and little bit of garam masala, together with sweet taste of green chana - one tasty curry was ready for chapatis.

In a big skillet, add and heat a teaspoon of peanut oil. Add and toast tadka ingredients first. One by one add and saut? onions, green chillies and garbanzo beans. Add in brussels sprouts. Stir in garam masala, coconut powder, turmeric and salt. Mix. Cover and cook for few minutes until the sprouts start to wilt. Add in cubed potatoes. Cook covered for another 10 to 15 minutes on medium heat, stirring in between, until the sprouts reach the tenderness you desire. Keep in mind just like cabbage and cauliflower, brussels sprouts also release unpleasant odor on overcooking.

Brussels Sprouts Curry

“Brussels sprouts taste almost like cabbage and they have a pronounced and sweet nutty flavor”, said Martha, in one of the episodes on Martha Stewart Living daily show, back in the days. That’s all I needed to know before trying out this winter vegetable.

As a new immigrant to this country, unfamiliar with most of the vegetables available here, no friends or relatives to learn from, Martha is like a mother figure to me. Calm, collected, intelligent and informative, it seemed she actually knew, what she was talking about unlike the current crop of food TV stars. No bam bam.. No unnecessary giggles and no artificial mile-length smiles. What she has is dignity and love of her craft and it reflected on her shows. Back then, I watched her show almost daily and learned so many things too.

I wish she would go back to the old format, because her new shows these days are not like the shows two, three years ago. Don’t they already have enough talk shows to promote movies and TV sitcoms?

I prepare brussels sprouts just like cabbage curry: sliced thin, sautéed with onion and seasoned with green chillis and coconut. I also add some sort of beans, pre soaked in water, like kala chana, chickpeas or dried green peas. If you have not already tried this vegetable, try it this way. I am sure, you are going to like it very much and thank me with a Christmas gift for this wonderful recipe.

Wash and Remove outer leaves and trim the bases of brussels sprouts. Check atleast two layers of leaves and remove them too if you find any black spots etc., . Cut each one into half and slice them thin lengthwise.

In a big pan, heat one teaspoon of peanut oil, do the popu or tadka (toasting mustard seeds, cumin and curry leaves). Add and stir fry the onions and kala chana for few minutes. Stir in the brussels sprouts. Add all the seasoning (green chilli-coconut paste, salt, turmeric), mix them together. Cover and cook on low medium heat for about 10 minutes. Leave it like that, don’t open the lid and allow them to cook in their own steam. After 10 minutes, remove the lid, stir them once and add salt if necessary. By now, the sprouts will be tender and done. Switch off the heat and serve immediately.

Brussels sprouts prepared in this way, taste great with chapatis and naans.